There are many benefits to brushing your teeth. First and foremost, tooth decay can be prevented by this practice. Brushing also prevents gum disease, which is a primary agent in decaying and lost teeth.
Healthy teeth make dental and orthodontic appointments shorter and more enjoyable, because there is less that needs to be done. Time and money are saved in the long run by keeping up plaque control in good dental hygienic practice. In addition, prevention of gum disease and or cavities results in avoiding unnecessary, costly procedures. Brushing can also help prevent bad breath by ridding the mouth of the bacteria that cause bad breath. Good oral care helps contribute to your overall health by promoting upkeep and maintenance.
Most dental professionals recommend that removal of plaque from tooth surfaces is best accomplished by brushing on a daily basis from home by using some form of “between the teeth” cleaning. The effectiveness of this type of cleaning is primarily a function of three independent variables: the user's brushing motion, the duration of the brushing, and the force (i.e., pressure) applied to the teeth during brushing. Theses three independent variables are subjective. For example, individual users may be more sensitive to pressure. Accordingly, such a user is more apt to apply less pressure on the teeth, which results in inefficient brushing technique.
To compensate for the subjective nature of brushing techniques, dental professionals have devised tools in an attempt to standardize the brushing process. For example, electric toothbrushes are well known. These brushes typically contain a detachable brush head coupled to a plastic housing. The housing contains a motor, a battery, and circuitry which power the brush head. This standardizes the brushing motion for a particular user. In addition, other types of electric brushes are known which utilize sonic vibrations in the brush head. These brushes are constructed in the same manner as a simple electric toothbrush. That is, sonic toothbrushes have a brush head coupled to a casing which contains a battery, a motor and other circuitry. However, in addition to the simple mechanical motion of the toothbrush, sonic pulses are sent which improve the brushing capabilities of the electric toothbrush.
Most sonic toothbrushes contain a rechargeable battery. The battery is recharged by a base or docking station which also acts as a cradle for the toothbrush. This allows the electric toothbrush to be wireless.
In addition, sonic toothbrushes and electric toothbrushes sometimes contain a pressure sensor in the head of the toothbrush. This sensor determines the amount of force applied to a user's teeth during the brushing process. It is preprogrammed to shut down power to the brush head if the force applied is outside of a specified range. As a result, a toothbrush with a pressure sensor can standardize the amount of pressure applied to a user's teeth during the brushing process.
In addition, some of these toothbrushes are equipped with a timer that notifies a user once the recommended cleaning time has elapsed. Currently, the recommended cleaning time is two minutes. This interval can be subdivided, so that an operator is notified of the time allotted to clean the lower and upper teeth. Alternatively, the interval can be subdivided into other intervals to account for other brushing quadrants. As a result, electric toothbrushes with a timer attempt to standardize the duration of the brushing process.
However, there are numerous deficiencies associated with this type of timer. Initially, a user is typically notified by an audio signal. This signal is very faint and can be very difficult to hear when the toothbrush is powered up and in a user's mouth.
Importantly, the signal does not motivate a user to adequately clean his or her teeth. Instead, it merely provides a prompt during the brushing process to either stop brushing or to change quadrants (e.g., move from the lower teeth to the upper teeth). This is especially problematic for individuals with a short attention span such as children. Unmotivated users tend to brush their teeth in an inefficient manner. As a result, teeth are not cleaned properly. This can lead to tooth decay or gingivitis.
Accordingly, there is a clear need in the art for an electric toothbrush that motivates an individual to properly brush his or her teeth for the appropriate duration of time.